Try a corn starch slurry on your dumplings they said. You’ll have a beautiful ring of crispy dumplings they said
Posted by Leading_Funny5802@reddit | shittyfoodporn | View on Reddit | 54 comments
I do believe I’ve done something wrong.
JujuJupetta@reddit
Omg you’re back posting food I love you and your food lol <3
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
lol thank you!! I’ve made a few posts over the last couple of months … my fave was a pool side drink 😁❤️
firestar268@reddit
Lao gan ma is great tho
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
lol I wasn’t sure if you were talking about the chili sauce cause the oil leaked on mine and I had to take the label off. I did buy another one today, and yes, that shit is addictive. I do wish there was more oil in it though.
GeshtiannaSG@reddit
How much cornstarch did you use?
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
Half a cup starch to half a cup water. I think it could have been way less.
GeshtiannaSG@reddit
Generally, the slurry is about 1-2 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon AP flour (if you used 1 earlier), 1 tablespoon vinegar (any kind), and 1 cup water.
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
Oh. Well I was way off 🤣 I just thought it had to be one starch to one water, didn’t do vinegar. Man I messed the whole thing up.
GeshtiannaSG@reddit
Oh yeah you made some sort of dough, like how they cook oyster omelettes.
DasGaufre@reddit
I honestly can't even tell what I'm looking at is dumplings.
Through trial and error I've found that you need a shockingly little amount of corn starch to make the "slurry" and to use a lot less of it into the pan than you think. Really just as little as required to cover the bottom of the pan.
You want enough corn starch to make the water cloudy, not enough to actually change the consistency of the water. Also, a small touch of salt in the slurry makes it much tastier.
Optionally when frying, add a bit more oil once it's almost dry to help it fry crispier and help it unstick from the pan.
Try just frying the plain slurry to experiment. Pour slurry in pan, fry it until almost dry, add some oil and let it fry until crispy. From there you can get a feel for a) how much corn starch you need in your slurry and b) how much slurry you need.
Happy dumplinging!
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
Thank you! And yes … someone else just guessed tilapia 🤣 This is good advice, I’m definitely going to do the slurry on its own to get a feel for it.
SirTiffAlot@reddit
Like, dipping them in a slurry first? Frying them in a slurry?
thelectricrain@reddit
So when you steam the gyoza by adding water to the pan and then putting a lid on it, the trick is to add a lil bit of cornstarch to the water in a slurry so it ends up forming a crispy lattice holding all the gyoza together. I'm not sure what went wrong here.
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
Wait … to the water already in the pan? I put water in pan, heated it up, made a slurry of cornstarch and water. Carefully poured it around the dumplings. It all went to hell from there.
thelectricrain@reddit
What you've done should have worked tbh. Did they stick to the pan ? Perhaps they got soggy and overcooked and that's why they fell apart ?
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
Yeah they stuck, so I added a bit of oil, maybe that messed it up? I need to get a better pan I think. I’ve seen it done on other subs, and I was like Fuck! I can do this! I did one to one with water and starch, but it immediately clotted.
stevencastle@reddit
Yeah if you don't have a good non-stick pan it will just rip them apart when you try to take them out. I specifically got a pan that was recommended to me because of how often I make dumplings. Diamond pan, got a returned one on Amazon for like 8 bucks and it works great.
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
Thank you for that, I ordered her. My pans come from thrift stores, and they’re shit. This looks like heaven compared to what I’m cooking with.
stevencastle@reddit
I still like to put a little oil in the pan to give it some tasty crispiness. Usually coconut oil.
thelectricrain@reddit
Sesame oil also works great !
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
I love sesame oil, but man a little goes a long way with that stuff. Usually I use it in my dumpling sauce.
thelectricrain@reddit
Yeah, gyoza or potstickers can be unforgiving, especially if they're frozen. I do mine on a cheap T-Fal nonstick pan and it works great.
turalyawn@reddit
I haven’t seen anyone mention this yet so what temp are you using? If your heat is too high they will stick and cook unevenly. You want it on low heat (even simmer if you have gas burners) to steam the gyoza, not fry them. That way even with a regular pan they shouldn’t stick
thelectricrain@reddit
Personally, I do it in reverse (no slurry though). Gyoza in low-medium heat pan, water and steam, then once they're nice and cooked I crank the heat up a bit and shut it so they brown a bit on the bottom.
Possible_Top4855@reddit
Thats how I usually cook dumplings, but some brands of dumplings are too delicate for that.
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
Medium low ish on gas. But from reading things here I may have started the whole thing wrong. Water in non stick pan, then frozen dumplings, then slurry which turned to glue. Then I added a bit of oil hoping that would un glue it. It did not.
turalyawn@reddit
That’s how we learn! I have a feeling your next attempt will be massively better
EndGuy555@reddit
That’s a dumpling? I thought it was talapia
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
Lmfao!! Right? I don’t think I could have done worse 🤣
Fibrizzo@reddit
Corn starch sticks like glue to even nonstick pans until its browned and crispy.
Looks like you tried moving them before the starch released from the pan
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
Okay that makes sense … because as soon as I poured the slurry in it did exactly that, turned to glue, and covered up the dumplings even though I tried not to. Man the picture I saw on r/stonerfood was BEAUTIFUL! Looked like lace over the dumplings.
Azure-Cyan@reddit
Just remember to use a thin layer of the slurry at the end; pour miniscule amounts between the dumplings. You can also thin out the slurry even more so it crisps up faster and create more laces.
Personal_Factor568@reddit
Cornstarch slurry is a very trust the process type of ingredient
Just wait for it to slowly dried and crisp up
lchen12345@reddit
To do the skirt I think a flour slurry works better than cornstarch and you really need a nonstick pan.
energyinmotion@reddit
Who is they and why did you listen to them?
rexcasei@reddit
Here’s my tips:
Make it relatively thin and just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan
Make sure there is plenty of oil
Kick the heat up once you add and try to cook off the water as quickly as you can until a lattice forms and stars frying
Use a nonstick if you have one
Independent-Lab3459@reddit
Is that a skeleton hand fork? Sick
AttorneyAvailable603@reddit
Your hand looks crispy.
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
I’ll say what I always do … it’s not crispy, it’s my strong hand.
ObliviouslyDrake67@reddit
Literature-Just@reddit
Lowkey best comment here.
Thesexymanfrommars@reddit
Dumplings already have starchy outsides.. if frozen fill the pan with water till the dumplings are half covered then cover with a lid and wait until the water cooks off. Crispy dumps all day
MadamVoid@reddit
Did it taste good?
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
Sticky, I feel like I could taste the cornstarch. But the chili oil will get anything down 🤣
MadamVoid@reddit
Omg 😭 well atleast your belly is full and the chili oil helped
encroachingtrees@reddit
Good effort! Bet they still tasted great. I fucked up so many dumpling skirts before I got it right. I don’t even have any tips for you. The dumplings just decided I was worthy on the 8th attempt and it’s been smooth sailing since then somehow.
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
Thank you! And they were okay, but with enough chili oil I got them down. I was just so butt hurt cause I saw pictures, did some research and man, not at all what I saw in my head.
Jealous_Disk3552@reddit
Pilot error
GravyPainter@reddit
A light dusting of corn starch does the trick for me
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
I read that too, and among a better pan, I’m going to try that next time.
Ishvale@reddit
An actual slurry? With water? No, that's not how it works lol
thelectricrain@reddit
I think you might need a nonstick pan.
shield_battery@reddit
U dunno about the slurry, but theres a fine line between potsticking and potsticker. thay being safe d therr are these gyozas at costco u cant mess up Ajinomoto gyoza
Leading_Funny5802@reddit (OP)
It ….. just doesn’t look like the picture on the internet.